Azghora
The Azghora (pronounced /ɑːʒ.ˈɡoʊrˌ.ɑː/) are a now-extinct race of sapients who, despite their vicious physical appearance, were in fact a peaceful, philosophical lot which wanted nothing more than to find other sapients like themselves out in the universe somewhere to prove to themselves that they were not alone in the universe, but never got the chance to discover any. While the original species went extinct over a billion years ago when their sun exploded, current attempts amongst the Vacotor Knowledge Symposium is being attempted to bring the species back from trace amounts of DNA found inside their interstellar probes. Statistics *'Nicknames:' Darkworm, Scareface, Fright *'Homeplanet:' Lazh *'Species Classification:' Zhgor *'Biochemisty:' Carbon-based lifeform *'Locomotive Capabilities:' While still in their first larval stage, locomotion is left to an earthworm-style of movement. Later stages possess prolegs that allow for a more caterpillar-like movement, although the eventual pupation will eliminate these in preference for actual limbs. Bipedal movement is the method of movement in imagoes walking upright on the two hindlimbs. *'Average Personality:' Thoughtful and ever-hopeful *'Primary Language:' Azghoran *'Species Type:' Warm-blooded Bipedal Organism *'Lifestyle:' Social Predator *'Hunt/Forage Success Rate:' 100% Hunt (80% success rate) *'Armor:' Azghora possessed no known natural armoring at any stage of life, and did not seem all that interested in its usage, as they were not much of a warring species. *'Defenses:' Azghora had no true physical defenses, which was why they evolved into sapience in the first place. While arms could be used to push away foes or help to crawl or climb away and legs could be used to flee, it was the head-claws that could really do any real defensive damage, by scratching pathetically at a foe. *'Weapons:' The only real tool in an Azghora's arsenal was their set of thin, razor-sharp teeth. These were used mainly in feeding, but could also be used to "bite" a foe and grind apart the extremity that the Azghora had had placed in its gaping maw. While their face is adorned with sharp head-claws, these are used mainly to push food down their jawless throats, although they could be used for offense in dire times. *'Tools:' Azghora had a set of major manipulators - their pair of arms, and an array of minor manipulators - their head-claws which adorned their face. Head-claws were used mainly for feeding and communication, however, and so all holding of objects was delegated to the arms. *'Method of Eating:' Unspecified *'Reproductive Rate:' Unspecified *'Gestation:' Unspecified *'Number of Offspring:' Unspecified *'Offspring Survival Rate (before age of maturity):' Unspecified *'Singular/Plural/Possessive:' Azghora / Azghora / Azghoran Binominal Classifications Two different classifications have been given for the Azghora - the original, an Earth-based documentation; and the one recreated for Spore. Both are imperfect. A proper one has not yet been configured. For completion's sake, however, both of these shall be provided below. Earthbound Classification }} }} }} }} }} }} *'Domain:' Eukaryota *'Kingdom:' Animalia *'Phylum:' Nematoda *'Class:' Adenophorea (gland bearing nematodes) *'Subclass:' Chromadoria *'Order:' Monhysterida *'Family:' Digitidae (monhysterids which grow limbs) *'Genus:' Absorbeum *'Species:' erectus Sporebound Classification }} }} }} }} }} }} *'Domain:' Eukaryota *'Kingdom:' Animalia *'Phylum:' Vermes *'Class:' Podoannelida *'Order:' Tetrapodoannelida *'Family:' Digitannelidae *'Genus:' Absorbeum *'Species:' erectus Physiology *To be announced Historical Background Cultural Advancement .]] Having evolved from low-tier predators, they soon learned how to domesticate prey so as to more easily feed upon them with less risk towards their own general well-being and safety. As time went on the stupider of these flocks were bred more, until they would barely defend themselves against consumption. The keeping of domesticated creatures however forced the Azghora to have to adapt to needing to provide such creatures with sustenance - this led to the creation of their early hunter-gatherer societies. The Hunter-gatherers of the Azghora tribal era were adept at what they did. While strict carnivores, they would still gather flora to feed their domesticated livestock. This led them to begin maintaining a basic understanding of local flora, which would eventually evolve itself into a superb medical field. As time went on and the eons passed, the Azghora had begun to take note of their planetary system's local blue-white star. Having evolved from subterraneous creatures that adapted to an ability to live life above ground, the star held a particular significance to them throughout their civilization. Caring for domestic grazers led eventually to the Azghora's realization that the flora that they fed from moved to follow the star's path through the sky each and every passing day. It became obvious to the Azghora that this star was important to life somehow, and as their civilization evolved, so did their ability to relinquish philosophical thought onto others. Philosophy and science became mainstays of the Azghoran society as they progressed into the civilization era. They sought the meeting of "others", from beyond their atmosphere and amongst the stars, although no such meeting ever occurred, leading them to become ever-curious and distraught. Their star remained to bring them comfort, however, but the vast majority wished to meet other species that they believed must exist amongst the many bright dots in their nightly sky. The Science of Star Study When Azghoran scientists first announced that they had discovered that their blue-white star would one day explode, the Azghoran people were shocked and disheartened. When the scientists thereafter announced that the explosion would hit their fair planet and there was nearly no chance of any organism's survival thereon, the citizens were fearful. Great panic tore through the ranks of the populace like the species had never known before, and fearing their civilization might tear itself apart with this news, the astronomers immediately set to determining how long the star had to live. The next decade was the most degraded set of time in the existence of their people, having produced a global economic crisis. Nearly the entire world was lowered to the rank of slums, and the once-humble scientists were now considered as living in luxury. However, the scientists finally came back with an answer to everyone's lingering question: the Azghora would live for a very long time more, and with the date set for when their star would go supernova, they could plan ahead for when they needed to have found a new system to call home. The people soon calmed down and the world slowly but surely returned to its former glory over the course of the next 160 years. Perhaps the most important occupation one could maintain within late Azghoran society was that of a Starpriest, a pseudo-theologist position listened to and respected my the masses. Starpriests preached the respect of their blue-white star to all those who would listen, both at home and abroad, throughout their planetary system. Unfortunately, like the scientists who they followed, they would not realize the terrible miscalculation of the single-most important aspect of the survival of their people until it was too late. End of the Azghora Unfortunately for the Azghoran people, one of the scientists who had studied their system's distant blue-white star apparently made a slight error in their calculations for exactly how long the star had before it would go supernova. This put their ideas off-track, meaning that in the end, the Azghora thought they still had a million years before their star erupted. With the idea that they still had a full million years to prepare and leave their home system, they were caught vastly unawares. Those caught in the explosion were eradicated instantaneously, but those exploring the outer reaches of the star system had a slightly longer time to survive. In the end, all Azghora were killed, leaving behind only a number of their exploration drones and satellites that had not left the system. All remaining evidence of their existence was finally wiped clean when the remnants of the star they idolized so dearly collapsed into a black hole, taking all matter once existing in the system into a singularity. Proof of Their Existence thumb|300px|An Azghoran probe. While the Azghora were now long gone, they had been sending out exploratory drones for centuries before their sudden extinction, which were sent out in an attempt to discover life on other worlds. There are literally millions of these drones searching the galaxy, and certainly a number of them have discovered life on other worlds. Unfortunately, those who do eventually attempt to return to their home system, only to get collected into the singularity. No known Azghoran probe has been permanently collected so far. However, one day someone might get the idea to keep one of these probes to try and extract as much information about the Azghora as physically possible. Trivia *The Azghora species were created back in mid-2005. *They were also the very first race Somarinoa ever wrote out scientific classification for. As he had never used Wikipedia in his life at that point still, it took all of 16 hours to go downwards from Kingdom to Species, with only the final three parts to it made up. Gallery Azghora Old Spore.png|An Azghora in Spore, as they originally appeared. Azghora New Spore.png|An Azghora in Spore, as they appeared with the release of the Creepy & Cute pack. Azghora Hunter-Gatherer Spore.png|A hunter-gatherer. Azghora Philosopher Spore.png|A philosopher. Azghora Starpriest Spore.png|A starpriest. Category:Illustrated Extraterrestrials Category:Spore Content Category:Species Category:Extraterrestrials Category:Sapient Species Category:Original Aliens Category:Somarinoa's Content